Dardanelle prepares for state runDARDANELLE — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards were ranked No. 11 in the state by the Associated Press Arkansas Prep Poll that was released on Monday. That’s not No. 11 in just the class Class 4A (they're No. 1 there), that’s in the entire state, with higher classification teams like Conway, Fort Smith Southside and Bentonville ranked above them. Sand Lizards head coach Josh Price was pleased but said they weren’t very focused on polls and rankings....

Trusty signs with ATU to play golfDANVILLE — Jay Trusty knew early on he wanted to play golf for the Arkansas Tech University (ATU) Wonder Boys and Wednesday morning inside Danville High School cafeteria he made it official by signing a NCAA Division II letter of intent. Trusty said ATU had been an interest since ninth-grade. “I’ve always known the people there and their coach. They practice at my home course and I’ve gotten to play with them and their coach a few times,” Trus...

Pottsville cross country runs at stateHOT SPRINGS — The Pottsville Apaches and Lady Apaches ran at the Class 4A state meet held at Oaklawn Park on Saturday. The Lady Apaches ran to a fourth place finish and were led by Skylar Campbell. Campbell finished in seventh place with a time of 22:10. Aspen Campbell finished 27th with a time of 22:49, Hope Musser finished 37th with a time of 23:21 while Jocelyn Jay placed 55th with a time of 24:39. Pottsville head cross country coach Wes Mc...

Cyclones cross country finishes third in stateHOT SPRINGS — The Russellville Cyclones placed third in the Class 6A state cross country meet held at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, while the Lady Cyclones finished fourth. The Cyclones combined for 81 points during the event, while the Lady Cyclones finished with 127. Jared Johnson led the Cyclones with a ninth place (17:18.3) finish. Russellville head cross country coach John Frazier described Johnson as a leader who has contributed all season. ...

Pirates to hold community playoff pep rallyDOVER — The Pirates will kickoff their Class 4A playoff run on Thursday with a community pep rally put on by the Dover Booster Club. The team will take the field at 6 p.m., where a myriad of activities for the school and the community will be held to help raise money and show support for the Pirates football team. Dover head coach Greg Smith said it was an opportunity to celebrate the season and give the kids some recognition, but also a chanc...

WYC reaches playoffsHAVANA — The Western Yell County Wolverines qualified for the Class 2A state playoffs for the first time since 2009 with their 55-12 Senior Night victory over the Hartford Hustlers on Halloween Night — the second time in school history. The Wolverines claimed the No.5 seed with a 4-5, 4-4 2A-4 Conference record. It may not seem like a big deal to some, but it’s the most wins in program history and the final stand of a senior class that has mor...

Deer season 2014 arrivesThe youth deer season that took place this past weekend could not have happened at a better time. Deer activity was definitely at a peak. I have received several great e-mails and been told numerous stories by my school students of seeing lots of deer and having a great weekend in the field. This is exactly what the Special Youth Modern Gun Hunt is all about. It provides youth 15 years of age and younger an opportunity to get a jump on the “bi...

RV Heat teaches life and basketball fundamentalsLooking back, Gaylen Scott would say God has always led him to coaching — even if he didn’t recognize it right away. It began with coaching at the Boys and Girls Club of the Arkansas River Valley and led to teaching kids about life through basketball through the River Valley Heat competitive travel basketball team. Scott said he blends lessons about life and faith with basketball fundamentals in his efforts to reach and change the lives of you...

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Courier Staff ReportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Confident Cyclones prepare for seasonRussellville Cyclones head basketball coach Codey Mann has high expectations for his team. And why not? The Cyclones finished 17-11 last year and reached the quarterfinals of the Class 6A state playoffs. This year, Russellville has many of the same players back and a slightly less devastating conference schedule to boot. “We have a good group of kids coming back with four seniors who have played a lot of minutes. They’ve been through the fire ...

Lady Cyclones ready for changeIt’s still too early to tell, but Russellville Lady Cyclones head basketball coach Steve Wiedower said he has a pretty good feeling about the upcoming year. Wiedower has only had several of the players for a few practices as they return from their volleyball responsibilities. “We’re real excited about the outlook of the season,” he said. “We’ve got returning players with experience.” The Lady Cyclones struggled to a 7-18 record last season, bu...

Pirates defeat Eagles, command No. 4 seedDOVER — The Dover Pirates dug themselves out of a 13-0 hole in the first quarter to come back and defeat the Arkansas Baptist Eagles 58-26 during Thursday night’s game at Jack Berry Field. Pirates head coach Greg Smith told his team heading into the game to be prepared for a dogfight — and he wasn’t wrong. Smith speculated his team was still a little hung over from their 40-0 loss to the top-ranked Dardanelle Sand Lizards a week prior. “We wer...

Lamar routs Paris with big second quarterLAMAR — The Lamar Warriors exploded for 29 points in the second quarter of Friday’s game against the Paris Eagles to take a 37-14 victory on Senior Night at Warrior Field. After Lamar (8-2, 5-2 3A-4) scored its first touchdown of the contest with 3:19 left in the first quarter, the Warriors blitzed for 37 points in a span of 10:32. Braxton Sampley broke the ice for the Warriors with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Heath Clayborn. The ball was knoc...

Cyclones falter on Senior NightRussellville Cyclones running back Kentrell Scott broke 1,000 yards rushing for the 2014 season on a 23-yard carry early in the third quarter. Scott became the fourth player during head coach Jeff Holt’s career at RHS to break 1,000 yards, but his effort wasn’t enough to spare the Cyclones a 42-21 loss Friday night at Cyclone Stadium. Holt wasn’t sure what to say about the Senior Night loss. “They practiced so hard,” he said. “We were hoping s...

Scott on the brink of historic territoryFor Russellville senior running back Kentrell Scott, the stakes are high. Not only would a win tonight against Siloam Springs assure the Cyclones a playoff spot, but a rushing performance of 108 yards would put Scott into elite territory. For the Jeff Holt era of Cyclones football, very elite territory. With a 59-yard rushing performance against Conway last Friday, Scott moved his total to 892 yards on the season. If Scott scampers across 108 ...

Hector overpowers JC Westside 55-12HECTOR — The Wildcats celebrated Senior Night with a hefty offensive output as the Wildcats rolled the Johnson County Westside Rebels 55-12 Thursday at Linton Field. After scoring 15 points in the first 1:46 of the contest, the Wildcats poured on 34 more in the first half to take a 49-6 lead to the locker room. Hector (9-1, 8-0 2A-4) took the first drive of the game 65 yards in 58 seconds for a touchdown. Tanner Gaines connected with Dalton Ha...

Apaches boot Yellow Jackets 24-21CLINTON — The Yellow Jackets suffered four turnovers and lost the second seed from the 4A-4 Conference to the visiting Pottsville Apaches, who came from behind twice to win 24-21 on the road Thursday night. Clinton (7-3, 5-2 4A-4 Conference) scored 14 unanswered points in the second and fourth quarters and took a 21-13 advantage, but the Apaches (7-3, 5-2) tied the score with 4:47 to go in the final frame and took the lead for good with a minu...

Sand Lizards brutalize Subiaco, 56-7DARDANELLE — When Sand Lizards quarterback Kristian Thompson's pass to Chris Kerhner went 77 yards for a touchdown on the second snap of the game, the Subiaco Trojans thought they might be in for a long night. Three plays later, there was no question. Dardanelle's Turner Partin intercepted Trojans quarterback Ryan King and took it 55 yards for a touchdown during the Sand Lizards' 56-7 victory on Thursday at Keenan Field. “That’s exactly the so...

Game and Fish Notebook (Nov. 6, 2014)17th Arkansas elk hunt closes with 52 successes JASPER – Arkansas elk, living in the Buffalo River country of north Arkansas, continue to do well. Evidence is a highly successful 2014 limited permit hunt coupled with growing numbers of visitors from near and far coming to see the big and stately animals. Wes Wright, elk program coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, reported 52 elk taken by hunters in the two five-day seasons i...

Whirlwinds take down Lake HamiltonIt almost didn’t happen. With the game tied 34-34 and less than 10 seconds on the clock, Russellville Whirlwinds quarterback Ryan Talley was flushed out of the pocket. Talley rolled right, eluded a tackle then threw a back shoulder touchdown pass to Garron Rice to give the Whirlwinds a 42-34 victory over the Lake Hamilton Junior Wolves at Cyclone Stadium. The play was meant to go to the right side, Russellville head coach Dean Norsworthy expla...

Trio wins Homecoming Golf ClassicDANVILLE — The three-man team of Alec Hemba, Todd Wojo and Jamey Young fired a 13-under par round of 59 to win the 2014 Arkansas Tech University Homecoming Golf Classic at Chamberlyne Country Club on Friday. Hemba/Wojo/Young finished two strokes clear of the field, which included 28 teams and a total of 84 individuals playing in support of the Arkansas Tech Alumni Association Scholarship. Proceeds from the Homecoming Golf Classic have helped t...

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